GI & Allergist Update

We had our GI appt yesterday to follow up re: Taylor's GERD. But, I realized I haven't provided an update on our last allergist appt at the end of last month. That would be because I was very frustrated after the appt, so I didn't want to write about it. Basically, I wanted several foods tested for that she reacted to back in October. Current allergy testing only tests for IgE allergies (think of the kid who gets hives & breathing problems when they eat peanut butter). Without hashing through all the details, she has tested negative to the IgE tests for the top 8 foods (wheat, milk, egg soy, peanuts, treenuts, shellfish & fish). While we thought that her reaction back in October appeared to be an IgE reaction, the allergist now believes that it's non-IgE (for which there are no tests). This is very frustrating because if she had an IgE allergy, the test results would also guide us in knowing if she was outgrowing her allergies. And, this also means that we're not able to identify which ingredient in the hummus she reacted to back in October. He also told us to avoid milk since we've seen reactions (even the recent reaction while in Canada), but then in the next breath he said that she might jsut have lactose intolerance in which case we could give her some Lactaid Milk. I left there confused & frustrated.

So, yesterday we had our follow up GI appt. I really like our GI. He is so good with Taylor and he was just as thorough with us yesterday as he was during our initial consult with him. We explained the reflux symptoms we're still seeing and so we are to continue her reflux meds. No surprise, there. He answered all our questions that we've wondered about regarding GERD in the last 2 months. We reviewed her pH probe study results and he concluded that her reflux is really, likely triggered by foods that she eats. We've been avoiding all the common reflux triggers (tomato, citrus, spicy, acidic, and fatty foods) so he told us to continue to avoid those foods. Oh, and caffiene. Yeah, because I let her drink coffee when we go out to Starbucks. Yeah, right. I think for a minute he forgot she's only 2.

Anyway, GI docs are the lactose intolerance docs so I explained her dairy reactions and he said without hesitation that her reactions are allergy related, and are not caused by lactose intolerance. Glad we didn't give her Lactaid milk. I've always known that her reactions are too severe to be lactose intolerance but it's nice to finally a have the validation from the doctor that confirms my gut instincts, no pun intended.

Taylor has become so familiar with the routine involved in doctor's visits. She loves going to the doctor. I think she just sees it as another opportunity to socialize. She was squirmy when the doctor was doing the exam and using the ottoscope (to look in her ears/mouth), so he asked her to hold it herself. When we got home she found John's cell phone charger (which resembles an ottoscope, I guess) and began checking our ears and telling us to "hold it" just as the doctor had told her.

GI wants to see us again in 6 months...Not sure when we'll see the allergist again.